Posted: Oct 10, 2023
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's soccer team tied visiting Albion in a 2-2 deadlock on Tuesday afternoon.
Saint Mary's built toward a possible scoring chance less than ten minutes into the contest. Grace Barresi had a pass out wide to Margaret Slove, and Slove sent a strong cross into the box only to have the Brits' goalkeeper collect the offering. At the other end, Caroline Miklavcic smothered a chance in the box for Albion with a save while staying on top of the ball to prevent any loose chance for the Brits.
The Belles equalized in the 27th minute. A lateral pass by the Brits in their defensive third found its way to the feet of Margaret Slove. The freshman sent a lofted ball from the left side of the pitch toward the right post, where it bounced off the framework and into the back of the net to knot the game up at 1-1. Saint Mary's had some of the better chances over the remainder of the half. Claire Keely used a strong step to win the ball back just inside the center line. Keely played the ball off to Izzi Linus, and Linus found Grace Reyda at the top of the box. Reyda turned and got off a shot that went just right of the post and out in the 38th minute. A drop pass by Slove found Cristina Martinez, and Martinez took a shot from the corner of the box as the effort was saved at the far post in the 43rd minute. A cross by Slove in the final seconds of the opening period was dangerous but ultimately left the Brits unscathed as the game stood 1-1 at the half.
Saint Mary's earned an early corner kick and nearly went ahead. A short corner played by Kaitlyn Day to Grace Brown along the right flank resulted in a well-struck chance from mid-range by Brown, but the freshman's effort tailed wide right. Caroline Miklavcic collected another save four minutes later to keep the game tied. The Belles had a go-ahead chance in the 55th minute when Saint Mary's was awarded a penalty. The Albion goalkeeper, however, took the correct jump in the direction to make a save at the post on Izzi Linus's attempt. Linus, however, capitalized on a chance in the 69th minute. A long ball played into the box by Holly Skrip was punched down by the Albion goalkeeper. The ball became loose, and Linus beat out the keeper to the ball to bury the close-range opportunity for a 2-1 lead.
The lead was short-lived as a foul at the other end a minute and a half later resulted in a penalty kick chance for Albion, and the Brits converted to tie things up at 2-2 in the 70th minute. Slove tried to get the lead back only to have a shot on goal saved in the 79th minute. Mary Kaczynski had a pair of crosses blocked with under 11 minutes to play, and Grace Barresi had a solid cross off of a throw-in played away with less than eight minutes on the clock. WIth the clock winding below the four-minute, Slove and Linus strung together a pair of passes before Linus tried to play a ball into the box for Grace Reyda only to see the ball carry too heavy and out of reach of the sophomore as the game ended in a 2-2 tie.
Margaret Slove scored her team-leading tenth goal of the season, and Izzi Linus added her second goal of the year. Slove tallied five shots in the game, and Linus registered two. Grace Barresi, Grace Brown, Grace Reyda, and Cristina Martinez each posted a shot. Caroline Miklavcic made four saves in goal for the Belles.
Saint Mary's (6-6-1, 0-3-1 MIAA) are on the road on Saturday when they travel to Kalamazoo for a noon conference game.